Mortuary staff demands Rs 50,000 for body; couple begs in street

Samastipur (Bihar): The alarming snippet of a couple in Bihar begging for money to get their son's body back from a mortuary has spiked conversations questioning the degree of humanity. Several users condemned the situation via social media.

Sanjeev Thakur, son of Mahesh, went missing on May 25 from Aahar village near Tajpur police station. As he was mentally challenged, a missing complaint was registered at the police station. However, the child was found dead on June 7 by the Musrigharari police.

The body, which was later sent for post-mortem, was identified by the family. When asked for a return, the staff at the mortuary refused and demanded a bribe of Rs 50,000 from the family. Mahesh was forced to beg for money from his fellow neighbourhood. However, the mortuary staff has denied the allegations.

"We have learned from the media persons about the demand of Rs 50,000 from a parent to release the body. Such an act is against humanity. We have initiated action against the alleged employee of the post-mortem house," said Samastipur civil surgeon Dr S.K Chaudhary confirming the case.

The video, which went viral on social media, was shared by political strategist Prashant Kishore. He ridiculed the government in the Twitter post, saying, "Shame on humanity, yet #NitishKumar ji The claim of good governance remains intact!!"

The police have refused the allegations saying that the video is misleading.

"I am not authorized to investigate the death anyway. His body has been handed over to his family through the police station. I think this video defames the administration. Seems like an attempt to do it," said the DM in charge, Vinay Kumar.

The family retrieved the body soon after the video surfaced over the internet.